米国の都会に広がるこだわりのガーデン

2014 年 6 月 13 日 13:50 JST

fullscreen

David and Henrie Whitcomb's vertical garden redeemed a chunk of unusable space on their 2,500-square-foot wraparound terrace in New York's Greenwich Village. The green wall must be replanted each spring, 'based on what plants will survive there, and what plants will hold the soil,' said Emma Decaires, the Whitcombs' horticulturalist. 'I'm guessing that it might have been, by itself, a half-million dollar installation,' said Mr. Whitcomb.
Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal…

David and Henrietta Whitcomb are pictured in their master bedroom, which has a direct view of the green wall. Their penthouse, which public records show was purchased for $8.7 million in 2007, came with 'a great big 15-foot-high, 15-foot-wide ugly tan brick wall' that ruined the view, said Mr. Whitcomb, who founded Automated Trading Desk, one of the first high-frequency trading firms.
Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal…

The Whitcombs, who own a second home in Hawaii, couldn't tear down the brick wall: It's the 1928 building's chimney. So they transformed the eyesore into the centerpiece of their terrace garden, which also features a grove of Japanese maple, gray birch and serviceberry trees, and an evergreen that can be pushed on a built-in track to a prime spot at their living room window at Christmastime.
Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal…

A view of the Whitcombs' grove. During the 26-month remodeling project, the Whitcombs' architect, John Tinmouth, and landscape architect, Linda Pollak, designed a wall of panels with a water feature and recessed slots for 600 plants which could be bracketed to the chimney. Future Green Studio, a New York-based firm specializing in green roofs and green walls, embedded the panels with ornamental grasses and trailing plants in shades of green, silver and purple—many of which eventually had to be replaced. The plants are watered by a drip irrigation system.
Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal…

The CEO of developer DDG Partners, Joe McMillan, is pictured in the garden of his condominium apartment in a DDG building at 41 Bond Street in New York City.
Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal…

A view of Mr. McMillan's garden.
Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal…

The exterior of 41 Bond Street in New York City. Plants and vines creep across the bluestone facade from irrigated window boxes. Although Mr. McMillan's master and guest bedrooms are at street level, they are shielded from view by the living woodland tableaux planted in the recessed windows: a mossy rock garden overgrown with ferns; witch hazel, yew and cypress trees growing out of thick plantings of grape-holly.
Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal…

Thirty-five stories above Manhattan's Battery Park, Fred Rich can stroll through his groves of Japanese maple, spruce and pine trees or sit under a pergola hung with grape vines, where wild strawberries and thyme grow between the paving stones. He is pictured in his orchard of apple, plum, peach and nectarine trees.
Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal…

With landscape architect Mark Morrison and a team of engineers, fabricators and organic farmers, Mr. Rich has created a 2,000-square-foot garden irrigated by recycled water on the rooftop of his $4.8 million penthouse.
Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal…

'There is always something in bloom,' said Mr. Rich, who will be dining on fresh arugula, spinach and radishes from his vegetable beds, shown, this week. 'I do my yoga in the morning and the birds sit there and watch.'
Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal…

Mr. Rich, a 57-year-old partner at Sullivan & Cromwell law firm, declined to say what he spent on his rooftop retreat, which has views of the Statue of Liberty and New York Harbor.
Dorothy Hong for The Wall Street Journal…

Ken Hilgendorf, Darsi Meyer, and their dog Franky pose for a portrait on top of the garage of their home in the Westwood section of Los Angeles. A sloped green roof was the solution to a complicated renovation of their home.
Michal Czerwonka for The Wall Street Journal…

During a four-year renovation, Mr. Hilgendorf built a 75-foot-long garage at the foot of the property, then spent $54,000 on a green roof and landscaping designed by Stephen Billings of Pamela Burton and Co.
Michal Czerwonka for The Wall Street Journal…

A massive earthwork sculpted from 150 cubic feet of 'fluffy' custom-crafted soil, the garage roof is planted with a sycamore tree, ornamental grasses and a bright green hillock of no-mow grass—a fescue mix that tolerates excessive heat and drought conditions without losing its color.
Donald Miralle for The Wall Street Journal…

Mike Gerstner, right, basks in the sun on the deck of his roof top garden with friends. Mr. Gerstner created a dense meadow-scape on the roof of his Tribeca penthouse, loosely inspired by New York City's High Line elevated park. 'I like nature and the presence of nature—I don't like a sterile wood deck,' said Mr. Gerstner, 39, who works in investments.
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal…

Mr. Gerstner bought the duplex in a converted 19th-century industrial building in 2011 for $3.1 million, according to city records, and spent two years remodeling it to 'bring the outside in,' at a cost he declined to disclose. His dogs Emmett and Archie enjoy the roof garden.
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal…

Sedum plants that were put in last year sprout from recessed containers in the garden floor.
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal…

Instead of using a more bulkhead structure to access the roof, Mike Gerstner and his designer decided to build an atrium with a staircase leading to a retractable skylight. The atrium serves as an elegant entrance to the rooftop, and helps to bring the outside in, drawing natural sunlight into the duplex's central living area.
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal…

Mr. Gerstner's dogs Archie and Emmett scurry down the steps from the roof garden into the home's terrarium-like inner courtyard.
Cassandra Giraldo for The Wall Street Journal…